EU Parliament delays approval of Council budget to press for military aid to Ukraine

The European Parliament on Thursday refused to sign off on an audit of the European Council and Council of Ministers' 2022 budget in an attempt to pressure EU leaders to support Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems.

This morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to another wave of missile attacks by Russia overnight, tweeting: "We need air defense systems and other defense assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions."

The budget move was proposed by former Belgian Prime Minister and liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who won the backing of lawmakers to delay the voting until the next plenary session this month, which will be the last in this legislative term.

Verhofstadt's move is widely seen as parliamentary theatrics, since the legislature has no power to force the Council to provide weapons. Both institutions have been in a long-running budgetary dispute anyway because the Council refuses to engage with the Parliament's audit checks, and the Parliament has not signed off on the Council's budget discharge in any year since 2009.

The lead author of the report, Irish MEP Luke Ming Flanagan said the Council did not care about the vote.

“Of all of the institutions that you’re not punishing by delaying the vote, this is the one that doesn’t matter. They don’t care," he said. "The Council don’t meet with us, don’t talk to us, and don’t answer questions," he added.

Verhofstadt said he is "sick of what is happening in Ukraine" as Russia continues to bomb hospitals, energy facilities and cities and noted that while the EU says its door is open to Kyiv eventually joining the bloc "it's not even capable in such an emergency to decide to send a number of anti-missile systems."

In his speech, Verhofstadt — who was visibly angry — recalled that "there are in total ... 100 of these Patriot systems in Europe and they asked for seven."

EU leaders meet for a special European Council next week, and the next Parliament session begins April 22.